Communities forge links at bonding event

Bonds were forged at a second successful event organised by a Dewsbury community group.

Kumon Y’all hosted their Love Thy Neighbour get-together outside Tesco in Mirfield on Saturday between 10am and 1pm after a well-received initial bash in Dewsbury.

Group leader Farook Yunus said that the idea behind it was to break down misconceptions about Muslims and forge links with non-Muslims.

“The communities don’t interact, they’re so far apart. Mirfield do their bit and Savile Town do their bit. There’s a lot of misunderstanding and and misconceptions out there.

“These things can get really bad and can lead into violence sometimes.

“When we get talking we realise we want the same things in life. We really need to interact more and make people realise this.”

Mr Yunus said that the people who turned out to the event showed their appreciation for all Kumon Y’all’s hard work in the aftermath of the town’s devastating recent floods.

“We should all roll our sleeves up and get stuck in,” Mr Yunus said.

Between 15-20 youngsters aged from 13 to 18 gave up their free time to organise Love Thy Neighbour. This involved putting peace messages on to bottles of water that were handed out, sorting out equipment and getting sweets.

“A lot of time and effort is put into this and it has been put in by young people. It’s not just something we turn up and do. A good 200 hours have been put in.”

The visitors, which included Dewsbury and Mirfield MP Paula Sherriff, enjoyed good company, samosas, kebabs, cakes and kids were treated to sweets.